A group of senior citizens, members of the Debt Collective, are urging the Biden administration to cancel student debt for older Americans before the end of his term. They argue that older borrowers are in no position to repay and that the Department of Education could use a federal statute to discharge their debt.
By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, The Washington PostSenior citizens, all members of the Debt Collective, stage a"knit in" outside of the Department of Education on Dec. 11, 2024 in Washington, calling on the Biden administration to cancel student debt for older Americans before the end of his term.
In the waning days of the Biden administration, activists are urging the Education Department to discharge the student debt of older borrowers who they say are in no position to repay. They say the department could use a little-known federal statute that considers a person’s ability to pay within a reasonable time and the inability of the government to collect the debt in full.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Education Department would only acknowledge receiving a memo from the Debt Collective, the group organizing the campaign, outlining the agency’s authority to cancel the debt of older borrowers.The activist organization said it has been meeting with members of Congress, White House committees and Education Department officials about the matter since September.
Years went by, and Warner began working for DC public schools - another rewarding job but one that didn’t pay enough to wipe out her loans. While there, she enrolled in a master’s of education program at the University of Maryland Global Campus and took online classes at night. She graduated in 2012, despite being laid off while completing the degree.
The $230,000 in student loan debt Becki Wells, 63, owes is from putting both her children through college. Although her son and daughter took out loans of their own to attend Howard University and Temple University, respectively, they still needed additional financial support to graduate. Wells said she and her husband had been saving for college since the birth of their children but lost it all when the market crashed in 2009.
“There’s a cruel irony about it,” Schirmer said. “The way that you pay back student loans is either you take a lot of time and you pay back a little over time or you have a lot of money and you pay it back quickly. These folks do not have 25 years to make a payment plan, nor do they have money to quickly write off their balances.”
Student Debt Senior Citizens Biden Administration Debt Cancellation Federal Statute
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